The latest report in the Education Pays series released every three years by The College Board offers a wealth of information on educational attainment, earnings and employment of college graduates, and other statistics on health, well-being, voting behavior, and a host of other socioeconomic factors broken down by educational level. Some of the data is broken down by racial and ethnic groups.
The report shows a major decrease in the racial gap for high school completions and for college enrollment rates of recent high school graduates. Yet, there remains a significant racial gap in college completion rates for young Blacks and Whites.
The report breaks down earnings by educational level and racial/ethnic groups. The data shows that as Blacks move up the educational ladder, the racial earnings gap tends to diminish for younger workers. White men ages 25 to 34 with a bachelor’s degree in 2015 had median earnings of $56,500. For similarly educated Black men in this age group, the median earnings figures was $48,500. For college-educated women in this age group, Whites held a $46,000 to $41,200 advantage over Black women.
The report shows that Blacks over the age of 25 with a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2015 were more likely to be in the labor force than Whites. While their unemployment rate of 4 percent was higher than the rate for similarly educated Whites, the percentage racial gap was less than was the case at lower educational levels.
The full report Education Pays 2016: The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society, may be downloaded by clicking here.
